Famous Food

College football star Brock Hekking takes life with grilled onions and special sauce ... 'cause the former Nevada DE just signed one of the biggest deals of his existence -- at his local In-N-Out.

Brock is expected to be selected in April's NFL Draft ... at least according to Octogon sports ... a huge sports agency that reps some of the biggest stars in the world including Michael Phelps and Steph Curry.

So, when Octogon approached him to sign a contract with the agency ... Hekking -- who became nationally recognized for his sweet mullet -- wanted to make the event special and personal.

Which brings us to the In-N-Out burger joint in Vacaville, CA ... Brock's hometown.

"I went every day after high school. It's where I dreamed of becoming a ball player ... so I thought it would be best to [sign my contract] there."

Here's the question ... what do you order to go with one of the most important documents of your life?

In the 1%-iest crime of 2014 ... thieves made off with $300,000 worth of wine from French Laundry ... the Bay Area restaurant that is known to be the hardest place in the country to get a table.

Thieves cracked open a door to the wine room on the property and made off with 76 bottles ... some of which retail for as much as $15,000.

The alleged break-in took place on Christmas Day after the restaurant served its last meals on Christmas Eve before a planned six-month closure for repairs.

Chef Thomas Keller posted about the crime on Facebook, saying, "The French Laundry wine program is, as many of you know, singular and distinct. We look forward to rebuilding our cellar in the meantime and plan to get to the bottom of this disheartening act immediately."

The timer has gone off on the marriage between TV chef Giada de Laurentiis and her fashion designer husband Todd Thompson.

Giada -- who's been with Thompson since 2003 -- announced their split with a flowery Facebook post that makes it sound like this will be the most amicable break-up ever. In her post, Giada says they're moving forward separately, but doing what's best for their "family's happiness."

Giada and Todd have a 6-year-old daughter, Jade Marie.

No word on if either has filed divorce papers yet. They first separated back in July.

Jameis Winston and Barack Obama have something in common -- they both ordered the same exact meal at Roscoe's House Of Chicken 'N Waffles.

TMZ Sports has learned the Florida State QB hit up the iconic L.A. chicken joint around 12:30 AM Sunday for a late night meal.

Our poultry sources tell us ... Winston was dressed in his FSU warm-ups and arrived with 3 women in tow.

We're told Winston ordered the "Obama Special" ... 3 wings and a waffle ... which was named after the President when he ordered the meal during a visit back in 2012.

The good news? Seems like Jameis listened to Kevin Hart's advice ... 'cause we're told he paid for the meal without incident.

Baby steps ...

Paula Deen's hyping her new network with a Christmas-themed video that's dripping in syrupy sweet Southern charm. Also a ton of butter, and some bourbon for good measure.

It's a whole scene with Paula's family, but still feels like something is missing.

It's not clear what the hell is happening in this Paula Deen Christmas promo ... but one thing is for sure ... she and the fam are happy as butter-soaked clams.

Deen put out this video of her clan whipping up some holiday recipes -- but mostly it looks like they're just getting loopy on carbs and bourbon. Somehow this is supposed to be a promo for the online Paula Deen Network.

Watch as Deen cackles and spews one gem after another -- while her sons parade around like Southern gentlemen. Think "A Christmas Carol" meets "Gone with the Wind."

Weird.

Satin Dolls -- the New Jersey strip club that doubled as the Bada Bing on "The Sopranos" -- was hit by armed robbers early Sunday morning ... who made off with $30,000 in cash.

Police in Lodi, NJ say two guys armed with shotguns stormed into the clubs and made off with the cash. They released no other details, except to say the investigation was ongoing.

Patriots stud Rob Gronkowski isn't afraid to mix it up with football fans ... even when they're contestants on a reality show he's judging.

Gronk was a guest critic on this week's episode of "Top Chef: Boston" ... but not all the cooks were star struck ... 'cause chef George Pagonis tells TMZ Sports he got in Gronk's face and told him exactly how he felt about the Pats. Hint ... George is not a fan.

Chef P says, "I never really cared for any Boston teams. I've spent a lot of time in New York, and I'm a big Redskins fan."

Still, razzing Gronk when he controls your culinary fate doesn't seem wise. Pagans says ... "I couldn't let my team down and not speak up." He adds Gronk was totally cool with his verbal jabs.

Obviously, it didn't affect his judging because Chef Pagonis cooked the winning dish -- a pork and veal sausage.

Benihana doesn't want anybody mistaking a guy who slings rhymes with a chef who slings rice balls -- so it's trying to force the rapper to drop his stage name.

Benny Hunna, neé Benny Hodges from Mississippi ... has been fighting to trademark his handle because he's got big plans besides music. He says he wants to build an entertainment empire called Benny Hunna TV. Real talk.

But according to court docs -- the O.G. Benihana wants the U.S. Patent & Trademark office to deny his application for fear Mr. Hunna will create confusion in the marketplace.

That's debatable, since Hunna currently has less than 300 Twitter followers. The matter could be settled in court early next year.

FUN FACT: Hunna is street for a hundred bucks -- so you know Benny's all about that paper.

We're told they took off with somewhere between $6,000 and $8,000.

When Steve Zahn's not in Hollywood shooting "Modern Family" ... he's down home on his Kentucky ranch. How that turned into a convo about dead rats in pools is kinda hard -- if not impossible -- to explain.

So just watch ...

Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jethro ...

Max Baer, Jr. -- who played Jethro in "The Beverly Hillbillies" -- has a bone to pick with CBS for undermining his plan to create a restaurant empire ... all because of a rib joint in Des Moines.

According to the lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- Max cut a deal with CBS that allowed him to develop a chain of "Beverly Hillbillies" themed restaurants, casinos and hotels. Max claims he had the exclusive right to use the Jethro character and other themes from the show.

So imagine his dismay when he found out about Jethro's BBQ in Iowa. Max says CBS cut a secret side deal with the owners, allowing them to use the Jethro character that Max says was his and his alone.

When you look at the mission statement from Jethro's ... it's pretty clear ... they're taking a bite out of the same rib to which Max laid claim.

Then again ... the people who eat at Jethro's may simply be poor mountaineers who barely kept their family fed.

Johnny Manziel's birthday cake game just went NEXT LEVEL ... 'cause the guy celebrated his big 22 with a 45-pound MONEY CAKE ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Johnny's friends hit up Colossal Cupcakes in Cleveland -- which has baked for stars like Kyrie Irving and Joe Haden -- and ordered up a custom dessert for the new Cleveland Browns starting QB.

We spoke with CC owner Kelly Kandah who tells us it took 2 days to sculpt the double chocolate fudge cake ... which included edible gold bars and gold coins.

Final bill for the 45-pound monster ... $600!

Money.

The wife of Umami Burger founder, Adam Fleischman would like a single to go ... with a side of cheddar, or in legal terms -- she's filed for divorce and wants spousal support too.

Adam's wife Shanna Fleischman filed divorce docs in L.A. County last month, but they separated back in April ... 10 days shy of their 10th anniversary.

The couple have 2 kids who are both minors ... and Shanna's asking for joint legal and physical custody.

It's unclear how much Umami beef is up for grabs in the split. Adam is still CEO of the company which launched in 2009. According to the docs, the exact amount of their community assets is "unknown" at this point.

Their marriage is survived by 24 locations serving juicy burgers ... with really pretentious toppings.

Ariana Grande is an Oval-teen heartthrob ... delivering piping hot chocolate to her freezing fans.

Grande is in London where she performed at Tuesday night's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Her fans are camped outside The Langham Hotel and it is COLD.

Ariana sent down the hot chocolate to warm the throngs ... and they got a signed cup for their support.

Buddy Valastro put his drunk driving case to bed by making a surprise trip to the courthouse ... to plead guilty to driving while drunk.

As a result of the plea, the "Cake Boss" star's license will be suspended for three months, and he has to enter a drunk driving program. He also got a $300 fine.

Valastro says he told the judge he only had one drink before getting pulled over -- but added he'd learned his lesson ... "If you have even one drink you shouldn't drive."

He wasn't scheduled to be in court until February, but after today's hearing he tweeted he went in early because ... "I wanted to make this right."

As TMZ first reported, Valastro was arrested on November 13 after cops noticed the TLC star's 2014 yellow Corvette weaving on 10th Ave in Manhattan.